Burned Ashes
by KataHime
Summary: Companion piece to Finding Love. It's been 6 years since Hollis walked out of Gibbs' house. Hollis' POV Full summary inside. Some language, implied OT3


**Burned Ashes**

**A/N: Companion piece to Finding Love, requested by Troubled-Angel-26.**

**Summary: It's been 6 years since Hollis walked out of Gibbs' house. Six years since she had retired to Hawaii and tried to forget. But now she's back, determined to show Jethro how much she has to offer. Hollis' POV**

The walk up to Jethro's front porch is filled with silence; it's early Saturday morning, late December. She was buzzing with nervous excitement, not having seen Jethro in six years. Maybe a part of her regretted walking out of the house, not fighting hard enough to get him away from the red-headed Director, but she would fix that this time. If they were even still together. They may have been old work partners, but that didn't mean they were always compatible. But still, what could asking the man out for coffee hurt?

She knocked on the door just as it opened to reveal the man himself, "Jethro."

"Hollis."

It took her a moment before she realized he was holding a young girl, barely three. Dark black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, emerald eyes looking at her curiously. He stepped out onto the porch, setting the girl down, followed out by Jen and Abby.

"Up, Daddy," she whined, and he smiled at her.

"Go with Mommy," he said, and she held out her arms for Jen with a wide smile that was purely…

_You have got to be fucking kidding me_.

Abby was holding a little boy's hand, his wild red hair sticking out everywhere, his blue eyes taking her in, "Mama, who is that?"

"An old friend of Daddy's," Abby answered softly, "Let's go get in the truck, okay?"

"Ruck, Mommy!" the little girl squealed, pressing a sloppy kiss on Jen's cheek as she wiggled out of the red-headed woman's arms into Abby's, "Ruck, Mama!"

Abby laughed softly, "Yeah, sweetie, the truck." She nodded to her politely before stepping down the steps with the two youngsters to the truck.

* * *

They stand there for a few minutes, until Jethro acknowledged her with a nod, "Haven't seen you in six years, Hollis; have stuff to do today. So talk."

_Where was she supposed to start?_

"Abby?" she questioned, though that answer may have been obvious.

"We got with Abby a few weeks after you left," Jen replied, "Never looked back. She makes us happy." She could hear what wasn't said, her own words from six years ago thrown back at her. _Are you completely out of your mind? You really think someone is going to want to date both of you both together? _How wrong she had been.  
_  
_"You have kids."

"Jackson is five. Emma is three," he answered, a soft smile slipping on his face.

There's a beat of silence as she digested that information. She stood there awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.

"We'll meet you in the car," Jen said, squeezing his hand gently as she stepped off the porch.

* * *

She stood facing the man that, even now, she loved. She had changed, could be enough for him.

"I wanted you to be the one for us, Hollis, the one Jen and I could come home to after work, build our lives with, but you couldn't be. You were so jaded; anyone who wanted my attention was a threat."

She'd never seen him speak this much before.

"Jethro," she started, and then stopped herself, trying to get her thoughts together, "Jethro, I'm sorry for how things ended between us. For the way I reacted that night."

"I know." He started off the porch, before stopping and addressing her again as he locked the front door, "Shannon and Kelly would've wanted me to move on," he said, a whimsical look coming into his eyes, "but it wasn't until Jen and Abby that I was ready to."

"Are you truly happy, Jethro?"

He looked towards the truck, and she followed his gaze. Jackson and Emma were strapped in the backseat laughing, Jen and Abby waiting in the front of the truck talking to the kids or each other, she didn't know. It was just the beginning of winter, no snow had fallen, but the engine was running, the heater on full blast.

"I haven't been this happy in a long time, Hollis."

As he got in the truck and the family drove off down the road, she tried to picture herself in Abby's shoes but couldn't. She could imagine falling asleep beside Jethro, waking up and taking the kids to school and then going off to work, but still, she couldn't imagine Jen being in the situation at all. Maybe that's where she failed; after all this time, she couldn't fall in love with two people at the same time.

As she headed back to her car, the thought struck her; even if she would've been able to be with both Jethro and Jen, she would've been taking away Abby's future with the two, and she knew as much as the young woman had irked her in the beginning, she deserved what made her happy. All three of them deserved what made them happy.

And maybe that was how she changed over the years. She loved Jethro, but his happiness wasn't her happiness, and that was okay with her.

**A/N: I hope it was okay. Thanks for reading.**


End file.
